books and tv updates

Havent read very much lately….I started a book which I thought was the 2nd one to the “Great and terrible beauty” but then realized that it was actually the 3rd. haha
Then I tried to get through that one bookclub book which took forever.(or maybe it just felt like it)
Now I’m reading this new book which has 8 books in the series-and we all know how much I like that to happen- called the Outlander.

It’s been interesting. It’s long…..and there is of course the unnecessary sex scenes in it but it’s got a good story line to it.

I'm also working on Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani. So far it's good and I like this author. She wrote the Big Gap Stone series and I loved those.
She's a good writer w/out all the sex and violence and language. 

                                   Now for TV updates.

Big Brother BABY!!!!
That started this past Thursday and is my summer favorite. Its on 3 nights a week and is so much fun. New season, new cast. Already have picked the people I dont like and the ones that I do.

The Gates
This is a new show on Sundays about a gated community which is supposed to be really safe because of the gate but of course they aren’t that safe. This also has a vampire/werewolf/witch aspect to it. I’ve enjoyed it so far so I hope it does good, but experience tells it probably wont last long.

 America's Got Talent

My exchange student Victor and I started watching this last summer. There were a few good people on there like Barbara Padilla who made me cry each time she performed. She didnt win which was dumb.
So now it's a new season and for the same reasons I stopped watching American Idol....I'm not watching this one anymore. They spend too much time with the IDIOTS who just want on the stage in order to be the next William Hung.
This week it was Vegas week and I spent 3 hrs watching them put through some of the good ones but more of the bad ones. They criticize performers even to the point of telling one he could disqualified for going over his performance time and then put him through. This old lady got put through and she is horrible, cant sing, cant play but they think she's cute and funny. Really?????
Anyway....There really isnt anyone that holds my interest like Barbara did last year so I'm done.

Drop Dead Diva
This is a cute show. This perfect model w/ a perfect life dies and comes back in the body of this overweight, stressed out lawyer. We're into season 2 this summer and it's just a fun little quirky show.




Curb Your Enthusiasm
TVGN is now playing reruns from this HBO sereis created by Larry David  who created Seinfeld. He stars in the show and it's just daily stupid life stories. I love it...it's great....I'm glad I'm watching on TVGN so that they clean up.
It's my new show that I look forward to. 

Three Rivers
This CBS show came out at the beginning of Fall season last September. It's another hospital show w/ twist. They specialize in organ transplant. It was a good show....has Alex O'Laughlin whom I LOVE!!!!(he's from the Moonlight series) They took it off soon but it's been playing again w/new episodes on Saturday nights this summer.

The Forgotten
I really liked this show. Christian Slater totally redeemed himself in my eyes with this show. It's about a group that takes Jane/John Doe cases and in the end, finds out who they are and how they were killed. It was interesting and I loved all the characters. They took this show off as well. But the past two weeks there were some new ones. My niece said they're probably ones they didnt show before they took it off. If it doesnt come back...I will miss this one!!!

The Office
So this one has been around awhile and I've been watching it for awhile but I just had to throw this one in. The people who created this show are GENIOUS's. My DVR tapes this show's reruns everyday and we've also watched all the seasons either on dvd or Netflix and still cant get enough. On Tuesdays TBS has a 3 hr set and Dyl and I look forward to watching these even tho we've seen them a thousand times. I also keep several random episodes on my dvr list just in case we have nothing to watch, we always fall back to The Office!
Take a close look at this pic. It's so messed up!!!! love it

more updates and reviews

 

Remember Me –dvd This movie was really good. Kinda dark but with a cute love story and an unexpected ending. Of course it doesn’t hurt that it has Rob Pattinson in it. I do like how even with all the Twilight hype going on…he can make a movie and you don’t even think of him as Edward.

What a girl wants- tv This has Colin Firth in it…one of my most faves and I’ve never seen this before. So I sat down to watch it and it was cute and quirky with a good Cinderella storyline.

 

Avatar the last airbender- Netflix This is a 3 season series that Dylan actually got me hooked on. It’s a cartoon that was on Nickelodean awhile back.We watched all 3 seasons to prepare for the movie that would be coming out at the time and tho at first I balked at watching it, I ended up liking it very much and loving the characters. 

 

Last chance Harvey –Netflix I was unsure if I wanted to see this movie. It looked kind of boring, but I was bored one night and it does have Emma Thompson whom I love so I decided to give it a chance and it was actually pretty good. Not over the top WOW…but just nice with some good acting and a nice story line!

Dear John – dvd This one was ok. I don’t like Nicholas Sparks books but I did like The Notebook as a movie so I took a chance w/this one. It was ok. Typical storyline!

Toy Story 3 theater- The Toy Story movies have always been a favorite in our
house so of course we had to see the 3^rd.  It ended up tho w/Dylan working and ect. he hasn’t seen it yet but Sylvia and I went and saw it in 3-D. It was really good. I think they did great for a 3^rd movie. The bad thing is that at the end I bawled and bawled. I literally was trying to hold myself together as not to embarrass Sylvia. I even had a hard time leaving the theater and on the way home. I’m a sap, I know. We still have Dyls TS toys and w/him graduating this year it was a little tooooo close to home.

Shrek 4 –theater This was actually awhile ago and I didn’t comment on it. The last in the Shrek series and it was good. A little dark but good. I loved Puss as a fat/lazy cat. So funny!

JUNE bookclub

I cant believe its July and I didn’t even write about June’s bookclub meeting.  This month we met at Bryanna Elliotts house (sidenote: I have never been there and was totally amazed at it. It’s big and beautiful with rich colors and unusual rooms!!) So, the book was picked out by Kathy Hansen which was The Shadow of your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark
http://www.maryhigginsclark.com/book_page.php?isbn13=9781439172261  

I’m sorry to say that I did not enjoy it at all. I really wanted to because I didn’t want to hurt Kathy’s feelings but I just couldn’t get into it. There were others that said the same but the ended up liking it the more they read but for some reason I just couldn’t. We had a good discussion about it and it was fun hearing the others take on the book. Also that night it was Becky Yawney’s bday and someone had put together a basket of goodies for her! She enjoyed it of course. Now…in our club whosever house we have the meeting at, picks the book for next month but in this case, Bry wanted to have it at her house but didn’t want to pick the book so they volunteered me to pick the book since I don’t have a place that will hold everyone. I thought and thought and chose “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle” by David Wroblewski. I loved it so I hope they do too.

updates!!!

These are in order of how I liked them!!!

Movies I've seen recently.....

Leap Year

Kind of questioned the authenticity of the "Irish" accents in this movie and then decided I was being too critical. The beginning was a little predictable but then it gets much much better w/ a great a romantic ending!!  I loved it!!!

Humble Pie

This reminded of  a Napolean Dynamite type movie (which I love). It stars Hubble Palmer who was Mr. Collins in the Pink Pride and Prejudice so I was instantly interested in it.  Here is the IMDB plot summary:

At nearly 400 pounds, Tracy Orbison is a wide target. When he sets out to pursue his dream of acting, the grocery clerk finds an

assortment of people waiting to dash his dreams: his acting coach, who has designs on his sister Peggy; his juvenile-delinquent friends, who suck him into their petty crimes; and his God-fearing, self-loathing mother. Through it all, Tracy remains irrepressibly upbeat, convinced he's destined for something big.  

I enjoyed this movie and hope to add it to my collection.

Cloudy w/a chance of meatballs

This was really cute. Lots of  big named stars in it. Didnt have a huge "message" which I loved.(cant stand it when these cartoons have some big moral message in it!)

It's definitely a must see!

Smart People

This I saw on TV and it should be renamed "Dumb people". I liked all the stars that were in this....but the plot was terrible and no morals what so ever!

No likey this one!!!!

Books I've read recently......

The short second life of Bree Tanner- Stephenie Meyer

This is a novella she wrote about one of the "bad vamps" from Eclipse. If you're a Steph fan then it's a must read!!!!! Thats all I'm saying.

A great and terrible beauty- Libba Bray

Loved this book!!! There are 3 books and just started the 2nd!

Must read!!!!

 The Walk- Richard Paul Evans 

I liked this one. It held my interest. In fact I stayed up late reading it. Way too late. I thought the ending was a little strange, but after researching it...turns out "There's more to come"!!!

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

A girl wakes up in the Austen era and has to learn a lesson before she makes it back to her real life. Unfortunatley this girl has very loose morals and once again a book that couldve been written in a really cute manner ....didnt really make it in my standards.  
Side note..... I wish I could wake up in the Austen era!  I would have so much fun and possibly meet my own Mr. Darcy or Captain Wentworth or Mr. Tilney!!!  sigh!!

It's been another month and we had our 5th bookclub meeting tonight. As always, lots of fun!!! This month's was held at Kathy Hansens house and the book was :

Here is a summary from Book Browse.com
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb…. As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all. Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever. Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
I read this over a year ago because Sylvia got the book and I borrowed it from her and I loved it very much. (and I just saw it on Stephenie Meyers website as a must read. he he!!)I got so involved with these characters that I laughed and cried and was really sad when the book ended.
So, at last nights bookclub, everyone who had read the book said they enjoyed it. There were some that didnt read it but I think they enjoyed the conversations. This month we took a different turn in our meetings by adding a conch shell which is to show that the conversations have gotten way off topic and Shellie had questions for all of us to read and I really hope we keep that one going. I liked that. Kathy picked the new book for June which is a Mary Higgins Clark "The Shadow of your Smile". I have not read her at all, so this should be interesting.

movies I've seen

So this month I've seen a few movies.....
I've watched 'The Young Victoria' several times and actually purchased it off of Ebay for a bargain price.
I've watched the 1st 4 episodes of Pushing Daisies which is a TV series from a few yrs ago that I thought was BRILLIANT!! (why only 4 of the episodes you may ask? Well, I have my Netflix account set up w/1 dvd out at a time so when you have to watch a series that's on dvd...you only get the one disc at a time!! It's sorta a pain.)
I saw two theater movies....both w/Sylvia....the first was 'How to Train Your Dragon" which was sooooo adorable. The dragon reminded me of Warryn. Then the next week we saw Shrek 4 which should be the last in the series and that one was really good.

well, that doesnt seem like alot. I guess now that Buffy is over and my tv viewing is over till Big Brother comes on....I should be able watch more.

On April 3, 2010 I started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 1 (compliments of Netflix instant play) . I started this thinking it would be something fun and quirky for Dylan and I to watch together but he soon tired of it and I was left on my own. After I finished season 1...I decided I was going to watch all 7 seasons. It took 6 wks and 144 episodes to accomplish this task. I would watch some at night after work but the bulk of the watching came on the weekends sometimes as soon as I woke up till I went to bed. All Buffy, All the time!!! and I had the greatest time. I liked that Buffy aired in 1997, so it was fun to watch this 'vampire show' that is pre-Twilight. Though all 7 seasons actually held by attention, the first 3 seasons were the best. I loved Angel in the first 2 seasons but then he got his own show! The music in the shows were great and even after 144 episodes, I never got tired of the beginning intro w/ the theme song by Nerf Herder.

So, this is one event in my life that I will look back on as something that I'm happy I did and I actually find myself being sad that I dont have any Buffy to watch!!!!